The Internet - The first Worldwide Tool of Unification ("The End of History")

" ... Now I give you something that few think about: What do you think the Internet is all about, historically? Citizens of all the countries on Earth can talk to one another without electronic borders. The young people of those nations can all see each other, talk to each other, and express opinions. No matter what the country does to suppress it, they're doing it anyway. They are putting together a network of consciousness, of oneness, a multicultural consciousness. It's here to stay. It's part of the new energy. The young people know it and are leading the way.... "

" ... I gave you a prophecy more than 10 years ago. I told you there would come a day when everyone could talk to everyone and, therefore, there could be no conspiracy. For conspiracy depends on separation and secrecy - something hiding in the dark that only a few know about. Seen the news lately? What is happening? Could it be that there is a new paradigm happening that seems to go against history?... " Read More …. "The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…5 - Integrity That May Surprise…

Have you seen innovation and invention in the past decade that required thinking out of the box of an old reality? Indeed, you have. I can't tell you what's coming, because you haven't thought of it yet! But the potentials of it are looming large. Let me give you an example, Let us say that 20 years ago, you predicted that there would be something called the Internet on a device you don't really have yet using technology that you can't imagine. You will have full libraries, buildings filled with books, in your hand - a worldwide encyclopedia of everything knowable, with the ability to look it up instantly! Not only that, but that look-up service isn't going to cost a penny! You can call friends and see them on a video screen, and it won't cost a penny! No matter how long you use this service and to what depth you use it, the service itself will be free.

Now, anyone listening to you back then would perhaps have said, "Even if we can believe the technological part, which we think is impossible, everything costs something. There has to be a charge for it! Otherwise, how would they stay in business?" The answer is this: With new invention comes new paradigms of business. You don't know what you don't know, so don't decide in advance what you think is coming based on an old energy world. ..."
(Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)


German anti-hate speech group counters Facebook trolls

German anti-hate speech group counters Facebook trolls
Logo No Hate Speech Movement

Bundestag passes law to fine social media companies for not deleting hate speech

Honouring computing’s 1843 visionary, Lady Ada Lovelace. (Design of doodle by Kevin Laughlin)

Friday, May 29, 2015

Dutch government funds research into robotic journalism

DutchNews.nl, May 29, 2015

Tilburg University and the Fontys hbo college have been given a €700,000 government grant to carry out research into automated journalism. 

The money will be spent on developing algorithms to write news articles automatically instead of using journalists. 

The research is supported by the media organisation NDP whose members include Persgroep newspaper group, broadcaster RTL and news agency ANP, according to a Fontys press release. Some of the research will be carried out at the Telegraaf. 

Hille van der Kaa, who is leading the Tilburg research, said every aspect of journalism which can be automated will be.

Threat

‘Journalists see these developments as being a long way off but this technology is already entering the journalistic sphere,’ she said. ‘And it is happening more quickly than expected.’ 

Robots which can write flawless, simple items at speed will free up journalists to work on more complicated, in-depth items,’ Van der Kaa said.

US news agency AP is already using algorithms to write simple financial and sports reports.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Indonesian Online Marketplace Elevenia Sees Strong Growth in Transactions

Logging On. Elevenia.co.id welcomed 20 million visits to the marketplace in February alone

Jakarta Globe, Tabita Delia, May 16, 2015

Jungsung Lee, chief executive of Indonesian online marketplace Elevenia, views
 other marketplaces as ‘cooperators’ not competitors. This twist on traditional
business relationships is indicative of the change and development Elevenia
is planning to evoke in Indonesia’s e-commerce industry. (GA Photo)

Jakarta. Indonesia as an e-commerce paradise in just two years’ time may seem an idle dream to those who still struggle with connectivity as a massive burden in their lives. It is, however, an emerging reality for some of the people behind Indonesia’s growing online market ecosystem.

Meet Jungsung Lee, chief executive of Indonesian online marketplace Elevenia. Hailing from South Korea, he prefers to be called James and is one of those who have thrown off any doubts about Indonesia’s potential.

His company is already starting to tap the country’s huge e-commerce potential, he said in an interview.

While he acknowledged that Internet infrastructure is still far from ideal, there are methods to tackle the problem.

Elevenia, registered as a business entity as XL Planet, opened for business in March last year as a joint venture between mobile provider XL Axiata and South Korea’s online marketplace, SK Planet.

It began modestly, with around 500,000 products and 6,000 sellers.

In just a year, the online marketplace had almost a million registered members, two million products and more than 20,000 sellers.

Elevenia.co.id had 20 million visitors in February — 5 million of which were unique visits.

The online marketplace posted Rp 250 billion ($19.45 million) in total transaction value last year and in the first two months of this year had booked Rp 60 billion.

“It has exceeded [my plan]. We achieved more than our business target so our shareholders are so happy with us,” he said, noting that the investors now plan an additional capital injection within the next two years.

Initial investments from XL and SK Planet last year amounted to $18.3 million and another $24.2 million was injected earlier this year.

Calm, focused and friendly, Lee is clearly investor-friendly. At first glance he looks like any other businessman in his 40s but his nature manages to radiate a sense of security and optimism amid the hustle and bustle of an online business community populated by employees in their mid-20s.

Jokingly, one of his employees said his calmness is the product of months of training. Korean businessmen are not accustomed to talking with the press and dealing with informal work atmospheres, yet Lee has been able to keep his cool.

The Korean set out to explain the principles he believes are needed for success in the online world.

“The first thing is trust. The second is good products, then good prices and convenience. For the Indonesian market, trust is very important; it is the customers’ basic demand,” he said.

Many Indonesians remain hesitant to use online shops due to a lack of information. Potential customers think that fraud and crime are easily concealed in an apparently anonymous digital world.

That is not the case with Elevenia, Lee said.

“We use a system called escrow,” a formal account which holds funds prior to completion of a transaction, allowing Elevenia to guarantee a safe transaction for both buyer and seller.

Elevenia also has some unique traits. For instance, customers can directly ask Elevenia to find a certain product, local or otherwise.

“If there is something the customer can’t find, they can inform us, then we will get the product. [Especially] products from Korea. We have the experience, we have good channels. From Korea, we can get anything,” said Lee.

To further the trust factor, the company has set limits on trading. It will not sell counterfeit goods, drugs or other illegal items.

The growing business of Elevenia is a glimpse of Indonesia’s blossoming e-commerce industry.

A survey conducted by the Indonesian Internet Providers Association (APJII) and University of Indonesia shows that online shopping is catching on fast with younger Indonesians.

Samuel A Pangerapan, chairman of APJII, said the survey showed that there were 88.1 million Internet users in Indonesia in 2014. A huge portion — 49 percent — are young, around 18 to 25 years old, with 51 percent of them women.

They use the Internet for various reasons, from networking through social networking applications to searching for information and exchanging messages, downloading and sharing videos.

Internet users’ behavior has shifted, Samuel stated, from only using the Internet to interact — like exchanging stories from blogs, chatting through messaging services or talking directly through video chat — to more complex behavior like trading.

In its latest report, APJII said many Indonesian Internet users have started to use the Internet for shopping. Around 11 percent of users purchased goods online in 2014, double the number a year earlier. The vast majority — 85 percent — browse the Internet with their phones, although many also use laptops, tablets and PCs.

To meet this multiple gadget lifestyle, Elevenia has made sure it can be accessed from website, mobile web and mobile application.

According to Lee, being in every digital space was critical, since competition is beginning to intensify as companies recognize Indonesia’s e-commerce potential.

The number of popular e-commerce sites in Indonesia is growing each year. Local sites with a similar business model to Elevenia include Tokopedia, BukaLapak, Quoo10, Lazada and Rakuten, and new ones keep coming.

“We welcome the competition,” said Lee. “At the moment, this market is really in its early stage. It’s not mature, that’s why at this moment I don’t think the other players are our competitors. At this moment, they are our cooperators.”

Elevenia is keen to work with other e-commerce players in Indonesia to build an ideal ecosystem.

GlobeAsia

Action plan aims to double e-commerce sales in China

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-05-17

The homepage of Taobao.com, one of the leading e-commerce platforms
in China. (Internet photo)

China is aiming to almost double the value of its e-commerce sector in two years by tapping in rural, small city and foreign markets, under an action plan published by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

The ministry promised measures to help e-commerce businesses make further forays into these relatively unexplored markets, as well as encouragement of cross-border trade through better coordination between online platforms and brick-and-mortar stores.

With these measures, the ministry predicted the country's 2016 e-commerce transactions will hit 22 trillion yuan (US$3.6 trillion), almost double the 13.4 trillion yuan (US$2.16 trillion) recorded for 2014.

The ministry is also aiming to lift the annual value of online retail sales, referring specifically to those through third-party online marketplaces like Taobao, to 5.5 trillion yuan (US$885 billion) in 2016. The figure would also nearly double the 2.8 trillion yuan (US$450 billion) recorded in 2014.

To achieve these goals, the ministry said it would first "nurture 200 counties to lead e-commerce development in rural regions" by encouraging them to sell farm produce online. It will also support e-commerce companies to establish bases and sales channels in the countryside.

The ministry also plans to set up 60 national e-commerce demonstration parks and establish 150 "e-commerce companies with strong competitiveness," meaning larger firms demonstrating best practice.

According to the plan, it will also place equal emphasis on development of logistics firms, and work with other government departments to improve infrastructure and distribution networks in order to facilitate the e-commerce sector's expansion.

"The action plan is important for optimizing production, expanding employment and improving people's lives," according to a statement on the ministry's website.

The plan falls under the "Internet Plus" strategy championed by the central government, which is trying to give new impetus to the slowing economy by integrating the Internet with traditional industries.

The new action plan is concerned with making online shopping more convenient for consumers in small cities, with the ministry saying it will support the establishment of localized e-commerce platforms to compete with existing companies.

Meanwhile, it is aiming to help the e-commerce sector explore value-added services such as parcel keeping and bill payment to benefit residents of large cities.

Physical stores, including retailers, restaurants, launderettes, appliance repair shops and ticket sellers are encouraged to use the internet to offer diversified services such as online orders and delivery.

The ministry said it would also encourage domestic e-commerce companies to establish storage facilities outside China.

The State Council, the cabinet, said last month it would smooth the way for e-commerce to grow by abandoning rigid registry requirements on e-commerce businesses, encouraging venture capital to enter the sector and reducing share-holding restrictions on foreign investment.

Related Article:


Thursday, May 14, 2015

Renewable energy vital for Internet lifestyles: Greenpeace

Yahoo – AFP, Glenn Chapman, May 12, 2015

A Greenpeace report charges utilities with hampering efforts to use renewable
 energy to power data centers needed for services hosted in the cloud (AFP
Photo/Martin Bureau)

San Francisco (AFP) - A Greenpeace report released on Tuesday charged utilities with hampering efforts to use renewable energy to power data centers needed for services hosted in the cloud.

Greenpeace praised moves made by Apple, Google and other Internet titans to fill a skyrocketing demand for electricity with solar, wind or other environmentally-friendly sources but lamented expansion of data center capacity in places where utilities reliant on carbon-spewing coal fuel dominate markets.

"A growing number of companies have begun to create a corner of the Internet that is renewably powered and coal free," the report said in an executive summary.

A Greenpeace activist sets miniature
 windmills in front of Strasbourg's railway
 station during an action aimed at 
increasing public awareness of 
energetical transition on February 11,
2012 (AFP Photo/Frederick Florin)
Internet companies that have committed to being completely powered by renewable energy sources include Apple, Facebook, and Google, according to Greenpeace.

Those commitments have driven growth of renewable power in several key markets, and caused some utilities to invest more heavily in that kind of electricity generation to meet demand, the report stated.

However, some locations that have attracted data center investments are in markets ruled by utilities with generation powered mostly by coal, gases from which are a culprit in climate change.

Examples listed included Duke Energy in North Carolina, Dominion Resources in Virginia, and Taiwan Power Company in Taiwan.

"These utilities represent the biggest obstacles to building a green Internet, and will require collaborative pressure from data center operators and other electricity customers to secure the policy changes needed to open the market up to competitors that offer meaningful options for renewable energy," Greenpeace said.

Apple leads the charge

Apple continued to "lead the charge" in using clean energy to power Internet operations even as the California-based company rapidly expanded, according to the report.

Apple on Sunday announced broadened renewable energy and environmental protection initiatives in China, including a project with the World Wildlife Fund to promote responsible forest management.

The forestland project aims to protect up to a million acres of working forests used for fiber for paper and wood products, according to Apple.

The project is expected to generate as much as 80 million kilowatt hours annually of clean electricity, enough to power about 61,000 Chinese homes.

About 87 percent of Apple's global operations run on renewable energy, and the Sichuan Province solar farms will move the company closer to 100 percent, according to the maker of iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macintosh Computers, and Apple Watch.

Apple continues to "lead the charge" in using clean energy to power Internet 
operations even as the California-based company rapidly expanded, 
according to the report (AFP Photo/Philippe Huguen)

Google is also pushing to rely on renewable energy, but its progress is under threat by monopolies held by coal-using utilities in some data center locations such as Georgia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Carolinas, according to Greenpeace.

Amazon, Microsoft, eBay, and Oracle were among technology giant's who scored low grades from Greenpeace when it came to green energy deployment and advocacy.

"The magic of the Internet seems almost limitless," Greenpeace said. "But each new internet enabled magic trick means more and more data."

Increasing demand for data, particularly streaming video, and processing power in the cloud means ramped up demand for power by data centers doing the online work.

"While there may be significant energy efficiency gains from moving our lives online, the explosive growth of our digital lives is outstripping those gains," Greenpeace said.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Social media encouraging corruption whistleblowing in China

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-05-09

Smartphone users in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. (File photo/CNS)

China's use of social media to encourage public tip-offs about corrupt or unprofessional official practices is gaining steam.

In Qinhangdao city of north China's Hebei province, more than 20,000 citizens have used an app launched in August which enables them to report officials' "undesirable work styles" such as bureaucracy and extravagance to the city's discipline watchdog.

Discipline staff have received more than 300 complaints via the app, said an official with the Qinhuangdao Municipal Discipline Inspction Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Authorities have handled over 200 of the cases, punishing 30 officials for offences ranging from driving government cars for personal affairs to organizing extravagant banquets for family weddings or funerals.

"A small mobile phone can help solve a big problem. Every mobile phone is a tool for inquiry and everyone is a supervisor," said Hao Zhanmin, secretary of the commission.

Since late 2012, the new Chinese leadership has launched campaigns against corruption and misconduct among officials. More than 100,000 officials have been punished.

With an increasing number of smartphone users, WeChat and Weibo, both instant messaging services popular in China, have made it easier for the public to expose violators to authorities.
The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection launched its own mobile application in January.

Whistleblowing channels like apps and WeChat or Weibo platforms have also been adopted among discipline inspection bodies in Beijing as well as Shandong and Zhejiang provinces.

Beijing's discipline inspection watchdog recently opened a WeChat account, publicizing the contact details for six inspection teams.

Social media is not the only technology being used to ensure professionalism among officials. Some judicial bodies have adopted face recognition machines to monitor employees' attendance, in order to curb laziness at the workplace.

"After using the system for some time, the phenomena of arriving at work late and leaving early has been reduced a lot," said Wang Guorui, an official with the Changchun Intermediate People's Court in northeast China's Jilin Province.

The CPC is keeping pace with the times to explore new technological means to help fight corruption or bureaucracy, said Zhu Lijia, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Google unveils first Asian startup campus

Gangnam district in South Korea's capital Seoul is now the new home of Google's first Asian startup campus. The US search engine giant hopes to encourage a new generation of global tech entrepreneurs in the region.

Deutsche Welle, 8 May 2015


Known as the "Beverly Hills" of South Korea, Seoul's hip and ritzy neighborhood of Gangnam has a reputation of being a hotspot for fashion and plastic surgery.

Now the district may be adding another attraction to its list - entrepreneurship.

US technology behemoth Google opened doors to its first Asian startup "campus" in Seoul's Gangnam district on Friday, citing South Korea's flourishing entrepreneurship scene and widespread smartphone use as reasons for picking the capital as a base, after opening similar sites in London and Tel Aviv.

The endeavor is the latest addition to the expanding startup scene in Gangnam, which has attracted app developers, entrepreneurs and investors. In the past couple of years, the district has become the home of domestic startups like D. Camp and Maru 180.

But despite local successes, Korean firms have struggled to take their products to the global market.

"Our goal with Campus Seoul is to create a space where entrepreneurs can thrive," Mary Grove, Director of Global Entrepreneurship, said on Google's official blog. "Where they can feel at home with the local community, yet have everything they need to build a global company."

Campus Seoul rents out its 2,000 square meter space to startup companies and venture capital investors. With an open plan office design, it hopes to foster collaboration between fledgling companies.

In addition to providing space for people to network, it offers mentoring and training by Google teams and experienced entrepreneurs, as well as access to other startup communities in Asia and beyond.

The campus is also an effort by the South Korean government, which has partnered with Google, to establish a "creative economy." South Korean President Park Geun-Hye pledged a 3.3-trillion-won ($3.0-billion, 2.7-billion-euro) fund in 2013 to help nurture startups over the next several years.

el/uhe (AP, AFP)

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Google Indonesia Wants to Know Your Business and Help You Market It

Jakarta Globe, Tabita Diela, May 07, 2015

A logo is pictured at Google’s European Engineering Center in Zurich,
Switzerland on April 16, 2015. (Reuters Photo/Arnd Wiegmann)

Jakarta. Google Indonesia, the local arm of the global Internet giant, launched on Thursday a free platform called “Google Bisnisku” that will allow small and micro businesses to register and promote their works over the Internet.

The service will let Google to recognize almost every small and medium-size enterprise in Indonesia, offering free services to widen the businesses’ exposure to markets.

“Every kind of business can have the online presence while building its credibility and visibility on the eye of the customers without any charge with Google Bisnisku,” said Mira Sumanti, Google Indonesia’s head of small and micro business.

A recent study by Google and  Ipsos MediaCT, a Paris-based media research firm, fund that business with complete information on the internet can attract 29 percent more customers, Mira said.

Indonesia is home to 56.5 million SMEs with monthly sales between Rp 100 million and Rp 4 billion ($7,700 and $308,000), data from the Cooperative and SME Ministry showed.

A business owner can register with the program simply by logging in to the “Business” section on the Google.com home page. The owner must wait for around two weeks to receive the verification code mailed.

“We need to send it by mail to make sure of the validity and the presence of its owner is such as the address,” Mira said.

After the validation process has been completed, anyone who has registered can then find the business’s name, address, operating hours and phone number at the right side of Google.com’s page. Both customers and the business owner can leave ratings, feedback or comments on the page.

Maulana Cristanto, who owns Locco Gelato, a small ice cream shop in Bumi Serpong Damai City at Tangerang District, is enthusiastic of the new Google facilities. “I’ve been wanting to have my shop on the right side of Google’s search page, just like those big companies do.”

“I hope it will increase awareness about my shop because they can see my shop address right on the first page,” Maulana said.

Right now, search results for “Locco Gelato” only show lists of some blogs, its website and Twitter account.

Google also offers business owner the ability to view simple statistics that might help the business, such as how many people search for their business, how often they look for it, and when is the busiest time at the store.

“We want to introduce hundreds of Indonesia’s local business with the importance of being online,” said Jason Tedjasukmana, Google Indonesia’s head of communications at the press conference on Thursday.

“Small businesses help the economy. We’ve seen how Indonesian economic growth was very slow in the first quarter — 4.71 percent, the weakest since the 4.12 percent pace in the third quarter of 2009. With those small businesses thriving, we might have a chance to grow,” he said.

GlobeAsia

Dutch introduce emergency service app to cut help waiting time

DutchNews.nl, May 7, 2015

A still from the promotional film
The Dutch emergency services have introduced an alarm app which people can use to alert police, fire brigade and medical services when they are in trouble, broadcaster Nos said on Thursday. 

The SOS Alarm App will also alert volunteers in the neighbourhood of the incident, such as off-duty doctors or people with first aid qualifications, who have registered to be included.

In total 32,000 people have come forward saying they are prepared to help if there is an emergency within one kilometer of where they are, the broadcaster said. The alarm line operators hope to have 100,000 volunteers by the end of the year. 

The app will pass on the location of the incident to the alarm room as well as any photographs which the caller has taken. The caller will also be connected by phone to the relevant authorities. 

The organisers hope using the app will reduce the time it takes experts to reach the scene of an incident.